Sam Hill Signs With Team CRC/Nukeproof

Team CRC/Nukeproof are proud to welcome legendary Australian rider Sam Hill onto the roster, joining Matt Simmonds and Joe Smith as they look forward to success in the upcoming 2013 RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup season. A five time downhill World Champion and with numerous World Cup podiums under his belt, Sam Hill is widely regarded as one of the most skilful riders on the circuit, often showing disregard for and picking apart the most loose, steep or gnarly courses in the world.

Joe Smith, newly signed Sam Hill, and Matt Simmonds make up the Team CRC/Nukeproof roster for 2013.

I'm very excited about riding for team Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof. They are very positive towards downhill racing and I know they are going to put in 100% just like me. I'm really looking forward to getting to the races under the Chain Reaction Cycles tents and hanging with the team. 2013 is going to be a good year.- Sam Hill

Matt Simmonds and Joe Smith, who both had their most successful professional season in 2012, are hoping to push themselves even further this year with the help of their new teammate. Matt said: “To have a rider of Sam’s calibre on the team will be awesome for us! Placing 16th overall in last year’s World Cup was great for me and gives me the perfect platform to improve my times this year and get closer to podium finishes.” Joe Smith, who took 19th overall in last year’s World Cup rankings, is stoked on what the future holds for the team, saying: “Finishing seventh at Fort Bill last year was a definite highlight, and to end up in the top-20 overall was fantastic. With the help of the team and some tweaks to my riding, this year should be amazing for us all.”

Nukeproof's 210mm travel Pulse at last year's Val D'Isere Word Cup stop. We have it on good authority that Hill we be aboard a SRAM-equipped version for the 2013 season.

Team Manager Nigel Page said:

I'm delighted Sam has decided to join our team! I have been a big fan of Sam throughout his successful downhill career. He's had amazing results in the past winning five World Championship titles and is a fantastic ambassador for any company involved in downhill and mountain biking in general. We have worked hard on developing a great team and great bikes over the last five seasons and I believe having a rider of Sam's pedigree will step the team up to that next level and also bring on the results of Matt and Joe, who had very promising seasons in 2012. We are all really looking forward to having Sam on board helping the development of new Nukeproof products and hopefully helping Sam achieve his goals in racing in the next stage of his career. I can't wait for the 2013 season to begin!

Why would you go from ironhoce to CRC??? Dave weagle makes really good bikes technology and is probably pissed about this!! He desgned the bike for steve hill and now he just throws it right back in his face!? I can't stand sam hill and his dog shit unibrows. Like what is he trying to prove? Should of stayed on the big horse/mad catz. *puts pants back on*

It dosent matter what bike sam is on, its all about a paycheck for him, hes got a family to take care of now. Someone at his level of racing will only need 2 runs to become one with the bike. I still support him.

Now everyone is going to start saying specialized sucks. I agree when people say that specialized's stocks will go down, Sam Hill is the biggest marketing influence in the DH world, what ever he says is good, people for it.

Isn't Bronsnan still on Spesh? He's faster than Hill anyway. This is the same as Rossi leaving Yamaha because Lorenzo was younger, faster and better. Couldn't handle being given a downgraded contract when his teammate was given an upgrade. Hill was going to have to pay Brosnan's wages if he stayed at Spesh.

Could be a bad move for them though, because I know four guys who bought demos because of Hill, and that's in Taiwan where there are only about 300 MTBers.

As for Hill, good on you son, having kids isn't a joke. You're not going to win any more races anyway so it doesn't matter what team you're on. You've lived the dream, now it's time to chase the paper.

Three years ago Rossi was on 15 million euro, Lorenzo was on 6, something like that. Then Yamaha decided to offer Lorenzo 9, which meant they could only offer Rossi 12, so of course he went to Ducati for 30, even though he knew it was a piece of shit bike that no one could win on.

My guess is a similar thing has happened at Specialized. Brosnan is the future, he wanted more money but they didn't want to spend any more on overall salary. Hill was made a reduced offer to accommodate Brosnan's increase. Hill didn't like it so he went to CRC for more, even though the bike isn't as good (or is it?).

I think Sam Hill is awesome, I'm not bagging him iut, but I don't think he's got any more race wins in him.

It was claimed to be a match made in Heaven. The worlds greatest Italian Moto GP rider on an Italian bike. At first they were talking it up like he was going to break records on the bike. And don't say no one could win on that bike because Casey Stoner won a world championship on that bike by 125 points. Thats 5 victories. including 4 wins in a row on the Ducati alone. Everyone who follows it knows the pressures of winning a home GP. Rossi just couldn't ride it plain and simple.

That year that stoner won it was a fluke. They hit the ground running with that bike, the tyres, their GPS fuel mapping and traction control. Stoner was killing it and everyone else was running out of fuel on the slowing down lap. It was the bike that won the championship in 2007, not Stoner's riding. Then the bike went nowhere and everyone else caught and passed them. Everyone who isn't an Aussie knows Rossi is a class apart from Stoner. Rossi wouldn't ride it, plain and simple. With nine world championships in your pocket, are you going to take the same risks as a hungry 21 year old? Good riddance Stoner. In ten years no one will remember you.

Rossi is going to be a force again next year, unlike Sam Hill who unfortunately is over the hill (no pun intended). He's got a kid and a shiela nagging at him to be safe. He can still get paid from the occasional podium and a top ten overall. If he was going to win again he would have done it this year. You get slower, not faster. Hill's time at the top is long gone. I'm a big fan of his, I'd love to see him win again instead of that boring bastard that's monopolised the podium these last two years, but realistically that's not going to happen. Very unlikely anyway.

I apologise for the Casey Stoner rant. He was a fast, excellent rider. I tried to draw a parallel between Rossi, Lorenzo, Hill and Brosnan. Nothing to do with Stoner. But that bike is a POS that no one can win on. Discounting 2007, the Ducati had about 15% of race wins. It is shit, it ruined Melandri's career, almost killed Capirossi, it's why Stoner left, and it's why Rossi left.

In 2007 he crashed that Ducati once in practice and ran wide on a corner and dropped it in the kitty litter rather that pushing for it and taking Rossi out. Rossi doesn't have that sportsmanship. And that was it for the season. No more cock ups on that bike. The problem isn't so much the bike, its the people just don't know how to ride it. Look at Casey's style, hes very loose pushes that bike until it doesn't exactly what he wants it to do.

Please watch this and then tell me people will forget him in 10 years.

Sorry Hoolydooly. You're obviously a Stoner fan. I am a fan of his riding, but I can also objectively say he isn't as good as he thinks he is. The only people who think he's better than Rossi are him, his dad and his wife (and she's only saying that because she has to).

I'd be surprised if Spesh go for Brooky. I think he's awesome, but I'm not a bean counter, and I can't see them dropping big coin on someone from a country with a small market. I think they want a Yank, a Canuck or a Pom so they can shift more units. Having two Aussies would never have pleased the bean counters either I'll wager.

Come on guys! It's ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!!!!!!! CRC would have laid a very heavy cheque on the desk in the meeting. Fair play to him. He'll get whatever he wants from the team and company. He'll do what he did when he went to spesh. He'll carry in his old frame and tell them to build his new bike with those geo settings and characteristics.

Will this mean that HILL will be seen in the UK racing more over the summer months??????

" Specialized doesn't manufactuer anything, they are a marketing machine; they third party their manufactuering."

Does Intel build their processors anymore? Does Apple make their ipads or iphones. Does Chevy make their Camaros, Does Canon make their cameras, Does go pro make anything themself? It's capitalism. No one makes their own shit these days.

Only a few true companies make their own bikes these days. Intense, foes, BCM, and a few others. The rest are shipped out of house. Heck, rider owned means crap. Who cares if rider owned exists as long as they are sending their crap to Asia to be made. None of that means anything. Unless it says MADE IN USA, or MADE IN CANADA, or MADE IN ITALY etc, who cares if some rider baddass owns the company, because all it means is they are sending shit overseas to be made, rather than have the capacity to do it in house.

Now specialized is NOT a marketing machine only. I have been in their R&D shop, where they design all their stuff they get made cheap overseas, and it's on par with the aerospace industry. Top end. BUT, they don't go they 2nd step and have shit made here. Price this and that is bogus. There was a time cars were made entirely in the US and it was affordable. Inflation, and stupidity have caused everything to be made anywhere but here. Heck, even Tomac, yes, TOMAC is not made in Asia. Last time I would ever get even close to a brand that charges major money for their stuff. Demos...crap. Tomac... crap. GT crap. Why, because it doesn't help local families put food on the table each night. Sure maybe the ones designing, or marketing, but outside of that... nada.

Even still, point got mislead, Specialized is not just a marketing machine in the end, they design stuff, but that is not enough for most of us, which is what the above rant is for.

RFFR your point is pretty good, but yeah, using examples should be more carefull so the point you made is more solid....I worked at Intel, and they do still make their processors....just as apple makes their processors, but the case to decide if is a Ipad or Ipod or whatever they do, is done by subcontractors...

Anyhow, I do believe in that too...and just as we say in our country, is not the arrow or the bow...is the indian who makes the things worse or better....so, SH can even ride on a Huffy and still be a kickass rider, as for the marketing comments...well, is a company, if your company does not want to make proffits, then you should re-think your goals...that is where marketing is a one of the key elements on the companies...lets check for example GoPro in their early days, if marketing should have not being so awesomely good, then Nikon, Canon, Fuji,ect should had not (and still should not being) worried about...but with the excelent marketing done, plus their low cost geo assembly facilities and final product so amazing at such a low cost, Nikon, Canon, Fuji, ect are worried about the pocket action sport cameras, and not even going to the mobile......so then GoPro could have never made it to the point where they are...

Also, Spec is not only about gravity DH, they still have kick ass riders in their lines, the Claw rides a Demo as well, they road program is pretty big too, their XC lines are as well...so, loosing one rider does not mean their down the drain, and to be honest, Demo design will be as good as they are with or without SH....is now up to marketing to come up with something to keep this model in people´s head...

Specialized wants results - you don't get them, you don't get the contract renewed! Brendog - now Hill. These guys don't jump to other teams because of any other reason other than they were let go, or got a better deal at the end of their contract. What amazes me, is that a bigger factory team didn't pick him up. I hope he rails it and makes Specialized see their Big Ass mistake! Success is the best revenge. Hell, Rocky Mountain doesn't have a team - they should have hired him as their sole rider and let him rip on a Flatline!

Troy didn't get any results - shouldn't he have been dropped? And while Sam may have wished for better, it's hard to believe Spec doesn't understand the rebuilding game. Hill is still pretty young and you can't argue that he is not at least the caliber of Peaty and Minaar, who have both won into their 30s. Just speculation though. Maybe they were able to get a young up and comer like Brook for half the price of Sam so they went for it.

Troys contract probably hasn't run out you have to honour the contract that they signed. I also doubt he will be racing BDS and other British events due to him probably wanting to spend as much time as possible at home with his kid

You mean you want a exotic brand to slide into oblivion, the syndicate might be the exception, but remember minnar rode for global, haro, and honda, where are they now? Minnar is a brand killer, bad luck, black cloud!

That's definitely a move Spesh would do. Would not be at all surprised. I agree with an earlier guess that maybe Brook McDonald could move on to Spesh also. As far as SH , maybe the pressure of being on such a high profile team after just becoming a Dad this year isn't something he is interested in. Maybe CRC is more a comfortable fit money wise and schedule wise. Just a guess...

A-R-C MInnar is not a brand killer at all, Haro just stopped paying for the publicity because the bikes where intense m1 at that time, they just wanted a team for visibility. Team Honda was pure R&D, the prototype they developped on the circuit was so freaking good, but Honda never wanted to produce MTB (anyway you can't kill one of the biggest japanese constructor). Minnar is Boss.

On another subject. Stevie stay on the canadian made bike, please! Rep this country, don't be a sell out! (Devinci should put the money to keep him)

^^ even if stevie ends up with a bigger brand for more money, i still wouldnt call him a sellout. Riders making money for their skill make me feel all warm and fuzzy. stevie deserves whatever he can get.

Brendog made way for Brosnan, now Hill is also making way for Brosnan. I think Troy is fast, cool and marketable, but I don't see him getting the same following as Hill has. I could be wrong, but I think as far as an image driving sales goes, Hill has it over Brosnan. Maybe that will change though when Troy rips the world cup a new arsehole next year...

He will ride things from companies he got sponsorhip from. If he got the deal whete CRC is fine with RS or DT Swiss coming in, then why not? Then it plays no role for top riders results what brands they are on. Gwin would win on Marzo as well as on Fox. It's all top notch these days. It is about the money they get: how much financing allows them to focus on training not on getting funds. It is amazing to which level Tracey Hannah stepped up to given the financial situation

It's not just the Va chamber it only does so much, if I could have made them take the hardest of hits I would still have them, I was right up to the extra firm spring. Also i may have been more inclined to persevere had the coating not started flaking off, just to clarify these are 2012 rc3 evo and they're still away after I sent them in october.....

888s are a whole lot less linear than any boxxers ive ridden, you can even fiddle with the oil volumes a little if you want to make them even more progressive, not that i ever found it necessary,
Sam hill will be rocking marzocchi kit, the team sorts out the bike sponsorships so unless the wholce crc team are adjusting sponserships sam hill will be rocking 888s next year

''Nukeproof's 210mm travel Pulse at last year's Val D'Isere Word Cup stop. We have it on good authority that Hill we be aboard a SRAM-equipped version for the 2013 season.'' Read more guys , he's gonna stay on BOXXER

@sylwhistler: I suppose that was directed at me, yes I do own a set of 888 rc3 evo ti v2 forks. I don't have them right now as they are away to marzocchi because the coating started to turn black and flake off, also I didn't say they were crap just that I didn't like them.Basically they were fine on small bumps as they are renowned for but when things started to get a bit rougher and there were big hits it was like there was little to no resistance so they'd just blow through the travel (I weigh 150lb). I switched up to a harder spring and ended up on the heaviest spring available to me all this did was to make it harder to get it started into the travel but once it got going it'd blow through the travel as before. I have no doubt with a bit of time and tuning, with oil levels and possibly the shim stack they'd be right for me but as I stated before the coating started to flake off. Maybe it was a one off occurence, I just don't want to take another chance with it.

People need to learn what these shiney dials and knobs do on their forks from the sounds of it , the shit these idiots complain about is a non-event if you actually adjust your forks rather than just spinning random dials.

Hands up if you think it makes a difference what forks the top guys are on. You just buy the one you like the look of because the top model from any manufacturer is excellent. Sam Hill on Rockshox = Sam Hill on Marzocchi = Sam Hill on Fox. Doesn't matter what he's on. He's still going to pin it all the way to 6th place.

Haha that makes me laugh bigburd, I know plenty about compression damping and what each adjuster does, I see you have a slightly older version which has both high and low speed compression adjusters does it not? The newer 888 evo forks only have a low speed compression adjuster and the Volume adjust, I've spent 6 months on my 888s first of all I don't know what kind of riding they expect us to be doing, the medium spring is a long way off being stiff enough for steep and rocky terrain, for me a firm spring would have been good had there been better support on the harsher hits. I was running the gold compression adjuster (low speed) at 10 out of 12 clicks and the Va adjuster almost full on can't remember off hand exact setting. Just to quote someone from ride monkey..: 'I've found in the past that all the adjustments in the world don't make up for a crappy fork'. I'm not the only one some guys are changing to avalanche cartridges but my coating f*cked up so I'm not taking another chance as I mentioned earlier.

''People need to learn what these shiney dials and knobs do on their forks from the sounds of it''
I have an avalanche cart in my boxxers that ive spent the past year reshimming and playing with oil heights to get them to exactly my preferences...shiney nobs arent really to much strain on my mind.
also, word to spoony and euan

2013 team rumors were true, haha. Best of luck Sam, I see an awesome 2013 season even though it's short as fvck Most curious as to how he will tweak the Pulse to suite his riding style, and his input for future models... Making 'em carbonz soon???

and nothing on respective team FB pages as at writing. Is this confirmed by pinkbike or a regurged news bit from that German site. If true good luck Sam and smack their arses in 2013 show them whats what.

Specialized offered Hill $XXXXXX if he can win some WC races (i.e. money based on performance), and since the results weren't really there through the 2012 season, a deal from a team like CRC that might be less contingency and more salary seems like a better and more lucrative deal right now.

I'm sure CRC will benefit from the coverage, regardless of whether or not Hill is operating at 10/10.

Spec has no one better to choose for DH. Current WCups are about Gwin, Minnaar and Atherton. Hill is one of the most likely to break that and he has already prooved that in 2012. No other has kept close to these 3 guys conistently. He must have got a much better deal at CRC. Spec is living off greatly from Jaroslav Kulhavy and have plenty of ambassadeurs like Hunter, Berrecloth, Keene so they might have felt that Sam's increased needs due to the family might be too much. Oh and they keep Troy Brosnan. Not many companies have such broad rider fleet as Spec if any. It is also worth mentioning that Spec wasn't probably the biggest of his sponsors. Until we see the list of Sam sponsors it is a bit pointless to speculate

nobody cares about steve smith thats why, sam hill is a legend, smith is not anywhere outside of canada, the most likely to break the power 3 riders at the moment are:Sam hill, Troy Brosnan, Danny Hart.. anybody who tells you otherwise is a fool, yes other riders such as smith may have put in a good result at certain world cups but im talking about consistant performers, these are known nailers and unfortunately next years world champs isnt a very exciting track or i think we could have seen some wild rides from the names above!!

That's a good point Waki - not that I know, but Sam's Monster and TLD sponsorships may be where most of the money is. And, let's not forget wasn't Sam top 5 overall for 2012? That's still pretty good for a rebuilding season. I hope he crushes it next season - I love comebacks.

And none of the 3 riders you mentioned placed higher overall than Stevie. Total results for a season speak louder than the results of one or two races before the guys you're putting your money on crashed and were out with injuries for the rest of the season. Call me a fool, but Steve has been progressing along just fine and is on the road for more WC victories.

I dont understand why people think this is a step down for Sam nukeproof build great bikes and I wouldnt be surprised if there is a carbon pulse on the way . There doesnt seem to be that much of a gap between the carbon and aluminium bikes anyway. Maybe Sam wanted to be the no.1 rider in a team that will bend over backwards to give him what he needs to win, with respect to simmonds and smith there not at hills level yet so nukeproof will be backing sam 110%. Also Sam was one of the main driving forces behind making the demo what it is today I dont think they can get the same feedback from brosnan or ropo at the moment so in my book its a big loss for specialized hopefully bulldog will be over there to give them back that experienced rider. Cant wait to see Sam on a different bike hopefully he will get what he needs to put him back on the top step as lets face it another person in there to stop gwin running away with it again can only be a good thing for the sport.

Why do most of the people on here think that Sam grown up on a Specialized? Does everyone not understand he won around 90% of his titles on the Iron Horse Sunday? and everyone going on about Specialised been the biggest company when Giant is!

The only question I have is the CRC team gong to be Monster CRC as Sam has only ever rode for team Monster, and the same question with Sram?

I seriously hope this isn't some sort of 'Xmas Fool!' If he's signed for a UK based team hopefully we'll see him at a few Nationals like Matti Lehikoinen (probably spelt that wrong) does now and then. How long until a carbon Nukeproof then?

sam hill will not be at any of the nationals, i think his priority is going to be world cups and then getting back on a plane to see his kid, i doubt we will see him at any bds rounds as much as id like to say differently

Well Gwin and a fair few others are riding Round 3 at Innerleithen this season, he'll be over for the World Cup round at Fort Bill anyway so there's a good chance he'll ride on UK soil. After all if you're in charge of marketing at CRC what better tool to drag, well EVERYONE to your stand than Sam Hill?

It's just like moto racing as a top riders star slowly fades he gradually switches from top factory racing teams to second tier teams, then eventually to teams that have to buy their bikes, then eventually they retire and become a consultant or something. Another step in a riders career.

Yes because team CRC are a '2nd tier team'....... They're the biggest bike shop in the world! Agreeing with tomoostv, he isn't faded at all. Also I'd say this is an excellent comeback after 2 years of injuries and he isn't exactly old yet he's still young in the big picture.

so which rider consistently in the top 5 will replace Sam hill?........... He's still getting results top 5, in the first full season after being plagued with injury he's actually had a very promising comeback.

The team rumours person suggests it's Gwin but only time will tell, anyway whichever rider goes to spesh they won't be a disappointment. Maybe both parties thought it was time for a change but none of us here really know the real reasons why Sam has gone to crc but it definitely isn't a bad move.

lets be honest. this is a massive move, by far the most important from a rider point of view than any other move for next season. Sam Hill is in the upper echelons of modern day riders and any move is a big shake up. its difficult to decide whether this is a huge statement of intent with CRC or a harsh cold shoulder from Specialized. I dont think specialized will see a rider with as much influence as Hill for a good while, but lets see where troy takes them. as for Sam, this could be a total renewal or the start of his decent into mediocracy...but only his next WC overall will tell. He will forever be a guarenteed top ten rider, something few companies can boast of their riders, but whether he stakes a claim to truly be a top rider in todays changing of the guard remains to be seen....flat pedal mabe dead in the new athletisism of modern DH but goddam it took some serois riding to show its inherent weakness.

I'm thinking spesh didn't put up the dollars for the new contract an CRC did ! End of story ! GREAT FOR CRC AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE A TOP RIDER ON A SMALLER COMPANY BIKE ! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ON A TREK OR SPESH TO WIN A RACE !!!!!!

Most likely it was not the business strategy of Spec that Trek as the big concurent got all the attention. Sam rode a really solid season. He's an amazing rider who can still pull a run out of the ordinary any time, excellent move of CRC.

Thats great news for CRC & I hope Sam does really well this next season. He was starting to look like the Sam of old towards the end of the season. Lets hope he can replicate to Hill/Iron horse status with CRC/Nukeproof.

Always amazes me how everyone on here "knows" what goes on with team riders and "why" they left to go to other teams and "how much money" they are getting and "how much better" they are going to ride on a certain bike and "why" a certain professional dh race bike is better than the other. Lets face it you all know jack shit because you DONT know these riders personally, OR the teams OR the bikes!!! Get over yourselves!

this is huge for crc but this leaves a question wath really happend at specilaized for let him go man speciallaized was nothing on the world cup championship untill sam and brendan came than troy now they let go their mos t expereince rider and winner something´s up man really

I wonder what specialized will do with all the decorations from the "Sam Hill" room.....HEY SPECIALIZED, my garage could use some redecoration hit me up I'm a local and ill pick it up!!! But I am sad to see one of my favorite riders leave one of my favorite teams.

I'm floored! but I have to admit—the real shocker would be Darren Berrecloth leaving Specialized. If the rumors are true though...I would love to see Brook McDonald riding for Specialized. Somehow I doubt Spesh would get their hands on Gwin.

well gwin has already tied himself ti twr till at least 2014so he aint budging and stve smith is too in love with his boss at devinci, he was the only guy riding a carbon bike out of a team of three or four people for christ sake!! so thats all bull

He's a good enough rider so I don't think it will set him back too much I'm sure he'll get used to the new bike after not so long and he'll soon be bombing down the tracks again! Hoping to see him on podium in 2013 and perhaps beating Gwin once or twice!?

I hope he has the heart to fight it out with Gwin next year. The poor lad has had terrible luck with injuries since 2009. This is the reason why Gwin has been out there on his own. I have no doubt that if Sam had been running at 100% in 2011 and 2012 then Gwin wouldn't have won quite so many races. Maybe Sam wouldn't have stopped him winning the overalls, but it would have been a fight at least.

I think it'll go two ways with this move. He'll either be winning or it'll be his last season at the World Cups. I hope it's the former. Sam on form is insane to watch.

I think the NukeProof Pulse's stiffer and more responsive suspension suits Hill better than the more plush suspension of the Demo. After all, Hill achieved greater results on his Iron Horse, which also has a stiffer and more responsive suspension, than he ever did on a Demo. I look forward to see Hill back on top next year...

This is a better matchup across the board; Specialized wadded-up the Iron Horse streak leaving Sam looking kinda like a posterboard. CRC/Nukeproof has all the gears turning, Sam looks more comfortable.

guessing spesh let him go, if not it's a bit of a kick in teeth seeing as they paid his wages while he was injured. Lot of good uk riders have been switching to nukeproof, would be great to see Sam at some UK events. Good luck to him.

I have read many post asking if Hill will be using SRAM. This is a no brainer.

If Hill is under contract with SRAM, then he uses SRAM, it's that easy. It's really not a personal choice as to what he wants to use , he is contractually obligated to use SRAM for forks, drivetrains, etc etc. if contract (deal) is still active.

If he used a competitors brand fork, then he would be violating his contract.

"Garden Of Eden. What do you think? Specialized trying to lure Aaron Gwin into temptation with the mighty dollar? Whatever, I think @Team Rumors has hit the Christmas sherry early, the quality of the artwork, the brush stroke, the subtle tone and definition of light and dark is lacking from his sterling original work."

Sam was extremely fast on the Ironhorse a few years back. Does anyone besides me wonder what he could do if he were to ride something like a new Glory or a KHS DH300? These bikes are conceptually similar to the way the Ironhorse was built, no doubt with obvious differences as well, but I've always wondered this.......... Either way, very interesting news with Sam going to CRC. Great season coming up.

Money . Sam is older wiser and been hurt a few times. He has a family to consider now and making more money towards the end of your career is not a bad thing it happens in every form of sport . Making the move could also be that he needs a fresh start and a new bike. I'm sure he has more input into the big picture of things with his new team and less stress of having to carry the specialized banner . Peaty did it when he went from gt to orange and kept on winning . I for one wish him luck in 2013 .

More to my surprise is how many people talk trash on Sam since his injury. Goes to show you the loyalty of DH fans. He set the standards of what DH is today, and this last season he did pretty effin well for his comeback after basically 2 seasons off. Guess Gwinn has this too look forward to should he sustain a similar injury. Until more detail is given, we have no idea if Sam's leaving was

A: Contract is up, got a better deal B: Specialized after dumping millions and reconstructing the Demo around Sam just out of the blue said, 'no contract for you'C: Specialized dumping those millions and going into the red on returns for Demos sold Vs. money put into the DH program..share holders, not happy. Let's begin the DH phase out program..business is business, and DH is a tiny tiny sliver of the company. Why spend millions on R&D, Salaries/Teams if not enough people on pinkbike are not buying Demos.D: Maybe, just maybe Specialized is actually a crappy company to ride for and at the end of the day, Sam just wasn't happy racing for them.

So to all the Sam haters I hope this upcoming season he puts Gwinn to shame and shows that, Sam is still the king. I ride a Specialized, but Sam is the greatest and my fav. rider, no matter who he rides for...kudos to you, and hope to see you back on top.

Sam's was injured for 2 seasons and last season was his first full season back showing he's fit and fast, surely a new bike is going to be a step backwards ? (I hope not)

And theres no denying once Sam gets on the bike tells them what he wants changed and has jacy and sram do there thing this bike will be fast it looks fast already maybe its a case of the bike needs input from one the best people in the the industry.

YEEEAAAAHHHH!!! Sam Hill could ride a Huffy, and it wouldnt matter. He would still dominate. Sam doesnt need a Demo or an SG to prove that he can still throw down. He just needs to stay healthy. His "best years are behind him"??? I think Sam has plenty more in him, regardless of who he currently rides for/with. I'd love to see him team up with Steve Peat, CG, Dan Atherton, and Brett Tippie!

everyone is acting like its the end of the world. why? this is an opportunity for an amazing rider to move on and lend his skill and insight to a much smaller company that doesn't have the same global reach as specialized, giant, trek, etc. Also, Hill made the demo the bike it is, sure, but it exists without him doesn't it? Hopefully people aren't dumb enough to buy a demo just because Sam Hill rides one....

Maybe Sam wanted a fresh challenge, getting out of his comfort zone! It's too easy to stay in the same old habits day in day out! Specialized should seize the day and sign Nathan Rennie! Be great to see him back on the circuit.

I was checking the news on Pinkbike and I see 498 comments for a press release, holy crap what is that ?? Sam Hill is the answer, I understand now... Eventhough he's not winning as he used to, technically he is from far the best for me, good luck on CRC team !

CRC are the largest bike shop in the world, they can easily afford his wages, especially as they just dropped 3 of their riders to bring him in. Best of luck to both of them though, it's just a matter of who takes his place at specialized?

Im going to get shit from the downhillers for saying this, but specialized never focoused on their downhill team as much as they do there xc team and roads teams. Sure they still put alot of money into it but no where near as much as they could. Thats why alot of the top riders left, they were riding some of the best bikes but were not having 100% support behind them.

NOOOOO!!! now im gonna have to get a nuke proof aswell as a specialized shatterd as that sams leaveing the specialized and leaving troy out! the unbeatibal aussie team mates are now brocken up! the myans were right the world will end in 2012! sam hill has left specialized!! life over :'(

Boxxers..? Yes I'm Using those Craps now...coz there no more support for Marzocchi here now.in compare...Boxxers are punishing me everyride....it rarely bottom out but just becoz it got a "Dildo" in there among the spring...Even the Extra Soft Spring...,.makes me feel sucks.....dont know if i am getting too old for Downhill Riding...

I think it will be a good change for him, and i dont recon at this stage in his career he really cares about the amount of $$ he earns because he pretty much has everything he wants except the results he has been aiming for. this change should give him a new kick of drive and get him keen as ever again, i say good luck and good job Sam! yieew

Really? No one else can see this? Specialized does not want Hill anymore. Trek has Gwin, Semenuk, and the legacy of Lance. Specialized is not going to settle for how great Hill used to be, heck they wont even settle for the #2 spot....

Legacy of lance? Lolol more like they don't want the bad taste that lance, road cycling, and doping debacle left in their mouths so they are pouring every resource they have into gwin, semenuk, and offroad cycling in general so they can be back into the hearts, minds, and wallets of fan boys world wide. f*ck spec, f*ck a demo, f*ck trek, f*ck a session, f*ck giant, f*ck a glory. Kudos to Sam, crc, and nukeproof. Take it the the big dogs.

umm he still won 7 tours, and put trek on the map, thats a legacy? if you're a real cyclist you won't care about his and just about everyone elses doping (looking at you froome) and realize what they do is amazing EPO or not, so yes when I get a new road bike I'll still look at a trek doping or not, I think their worst hit at the moment is that everyone from saxo bank that went to leopard-trek has had a bad season ever since

I've heard that Specialized are trying to sign up Gwin and get a contract with him, which could be why they ditched Sam so easily and quickly. This could just be a rumor going around at the moment, but then it could be true.. It would sort of make sense. I just can't imagine Gwin on a Specialized... can anyone else? Could be true though, you never know after this!

The contract could've been written a myriad of ways. It's definitely possible that he could be bought out of his current contract. But, not a snow balls chance in hell Red Bull will let their highest profile downhill racer ride for a Monster sponsored team, and Gwin leaving his TWR team so hastily would be out of his dull, bland, Christian character.

I can't imagine that CRC could offer bigger $ then specialized if Sam was appreciated in specialized. It seems so strange, they were just developing new carbon frame and then BOOM, Sam is out. What ever, how ever it happened, I wish him much of a success, and hope that this is not a sign off end of his career -> you know, going to smaller and smaller sponsors.

So true Hayden my old company was doing a site for a competitor and I have seen the numbers crc push out (its in the millions) granted its not the scale of Spesh but they can more than afford to bank role Sam Hill.

I feel that in order for Sam to push himself to his old self, he needs change and what better crew than CRC. Although it is a big loss for Specialized, CRC will be the new "blood" Sam needs and has been looking for quit some time ago! I feel a new Sam is coming!!!

Why did Specialized let him go? There is always 3 sides of the story...the truth, Sams story and Specialized story. Goodluck for both them... see you Sam for the next season! Specialized, give me 2013 Demo 8 then I will believe you lol.....

I don't know whats up with the hate... This is similar to when Tom Wallisch signed with North Face, and Scott skis. Everyone thought "dafuq?" but It's to get a company the publicity they need. I applaud Sam Hill for helping Nukeproof get their name out there and not sign with another big brand name, why not make Nukeproof a big brand name now? Surely Sam Hill of all people can make that happen for them.

I love the mountain bike transfer window the amount of speculation that's thrown up in the air is hilarious there's nothing we can do to stop it and its good for team moves other wise it would get like F1

Ha ha so much speculation, bottom line Hill is still the man lets see what he has in the bag, I am a punter, I would back him for Rainbow showdown with Gwinno, anyone know a bookie who will give me odds?

Really hope this change can bring his mojo back.
We already saw this year that he is slowly getting back to his old ways, maybe the new bike and team can be the boost he needs to claim that top step again.

I'm holding my fingers crossed for Athertons in 2013. Gee can do it, only needs some extra luck. With all respect to Gwin, but its getting little bit boring to worry only on who will be second one in race, as we already know Gwin will win. It's bigger surprise if doesn't then if he does.

I always thought Sam had to leave Spez somehow now that Troy was bigger and more capable competing with Elite Men.. But, and I just had to say this, I didnt expect he'd go ride nukeproof.. I mean CRC is a very good team. I just hoped Sam would ride the hell out of an M8 (CRC/Intense) than Nukes.. More of bike preference here than team preference.. Anyway this is very great news!! IT would be refreshing to see an aluminum bike on top with other carbons!

CONGRATULATIONS SAM!! you have just left a great company to ride for one which is sending bike shops all over the world bust. and having a great hand in destroying the common bike retailer... dude we used to idiolize you!!

My 2 cents: While his results were promising last season, his riding style was not so promising for future podium places and the further development of the Specialized DH bikes, because he does not have the technique to keep up with the top guys and the up and coming riders.

Yeh i did notice... But unfortunatly i dont have the cash to just swap my scalp for a pulse smart arse... But seeing as both bikes do have "nukeproof" wrote down the side of them then yeah... Like my scalp abit more now

^^^ what he said, think about it, world reaching bicycle manufacturer with 30 years odd trading vs world reaching bicycle retailer with 30 years trading PLUS a successful bicycle manufacturer for past 5 years = top trumps crc me thinks

The way they sorted out the rocker fik pivot, the front junction and the minimalism of the design, can not tell if the geo is dialed as well as the demo's and if the ratio i'ts beter or not, but I really love how they made out so well a simple design .it would not be the rigth thing to say one of the two is a beter ride, but I really like more how they thinked out the design . and again, I said "seems" no it is beter. ..... and a clever design dosen't have to be a sofisticated one , these guys made out a simple thing really great, I admire that...

Sam 2013,is not Sam 2007.Not a good return on investments anymore.Fat..full armed tattoed...Talks like a drunked hobo on a park bench...Brosnan,thats an investment!Ropellato yes,(Benedict or Skeen they are so fast and so kind).so much experience and being so young,both of them.Sam has been kicked out.For sure.Sam will team up with two guys that know's themselves they will never podium a w.c.I am sad,always been a huge fan of Sam.Never count without Sam in a race.This deal with crc-nukeproof will be his last downhill contract as a world cup contender.I can only wish Sam the best.What a rider he was.

Yeah but he could be bought out of the contract if the right price was offered and Specialized aren't short for cash I'm sure. Seems that they're looking to buy Bulldog as well and I've heard something about Adam Brayton...

Hahaha, that's a good reply! Nahh, I don't think they'll replace Hill with Brayton, they'll replace Hill with someone like Bulldog. But Adam Brayton would be fairly cheap to buy as he hasn't had any big results as of yet but he is well capable of them so he would be an addition. I doubt that he will end up on Specialized though, I was just going off all the hints on his Twitter

The "article" is actually a press release (sent to all sites) that was not supposed to go live for a few more days but the site that you linked to above thought that the embargo applied to everyone but them.

I'd say specialized didn't get the results they expected when they signed him and decided to drop him and Nukeproof/CRC gave him a good deal probably not the same spesh had him on. It's unlucky because he got hit with some bad luck with injuries and couldn't stay on top of things because of it.

He was top five this year, I'd say that's still on top. I seriously doubt you have any inside knowledge as to how much riders get payed by each company, CRC isn't a little team they have the assets to provide what Sam needs and I don't think anyone here knows the real reasons as to why he changed team.

Yeh that's true I have no inside knowledge and it's all speculation. He got top 5 this year which was great But the top companies like specialized want no.1 not no.5.
You can only guess until Sam or Specialized comes out with the actual reasons why they split if they ever do.

I think that Lewis wanted to prove himself in a different team, not to mean the chance to build a team around him like Schumi did when he left proven winner Benetton for down in the dumps ferrari. People will of course forget that it took many years of Michael at Ferrari before the things came to fruition.. I don't expect Lewis to win in 2013, and if he doesn't people will say that he made a mistake. It isn't about '13, though, but '14 and beyond.

Lewis made a great move going to Mercedes. They already have the 2014 engines in their hands for tuning and improving. McLaren won't get one until the end of next season. Expect to see Lewis winning a lot of races in 2014...

Schumi at benneton, ah, I remember seeing him race f1 in Adelaide. Back to DH, my only concern is perhaps the message that this might send to the struggling LBS industry in Aust. Hill has been bought by crc, idk of anybody that sells nuke proof here. I like the price of stuff at crc, but I hate their business model. LBS are going to go the way of video stores, everybody gets their stuff online, it will cost jobs, it will cost sponsorship and support at your local race /end rant

ok if were talking about f1, lewis may still be competitive next year hes got ross brawn designing his car so dont write him off, hes been working on championship winning cars since 1991 and knows how to make a f1 car go, my guess is that half way through thhe season they pulled their resources into making the best car for next year as they said there is alot of pressure into putting lewis into a car he can win in,
but if im honest i think this move for sam will be bad in the sense of the bike wont be quite as good but it will probably make a difference to his mental focus which will far outweigh any small difference the bikes make, theres no substitute for being absolutely on it

I knew this about 3 weeks ago before the news came out due to a friend who knows quite a lot well known riders through his business, the same as GT factory/atherton racing recruiting Taylor and the other guy. Funny seeing peoples reactions now! Nukeproof is already quite popular in the UK, and it seems like now they are going to become even more popular and mainstream... Will be interesting to see how Sam gets on!

haha no I don't know any well known riders personally, I've met 1 or 2 at races but that's it, my friend owns some bike business where he gets some of the old parts from these riders that they want to sell. He's ridden with Al bond a few times and met people like Brendan Faircloth a couple of times and ridden with him, and he just speaks to them and manages to find out these things and he then tells a couple of others. I guess he just knew the right people in the first place and then got to know some well known riders... doesn't seem believable but it's true.

Haha Ben, it's funny as you're actually telling the truth and they're giving you neg props and don't believe you. Unlucky! :/ haha. But this isn't some sort of 'Christmas prank', they would pull this joke in April. He has moved to Nukeproof/CRC 100% and will be racing with them next year, hoping he does well and starts to get podiums. Hopefully he'll beat Gwin once, got a bit boring and predictable last year with him winning almost every race when he had no bike problems!

Oh well... :/ Even though it's actually true, I know it doesn't sound it. But I can't exactly do anything to prove it? Especially now it's been announced! But yeah I'm sure Hill will do well and a couple of podiums in!!

Dearest Turman, the pr was posted on multiple other sites as of 6:30am my time. We were working on a much more in-depth piece and likely would have not even ran with the pr on the 1st, instead putting up some related editorial on that date, but we have to respond once it is out there.